Welcome to the Land of Liberty: THE largest and best attended Independence Day Festival in the area. Last year the event drew 20,000! This year we celebrate with our theme:
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The two-day event is anchored by nationally recognized entertainment. This year we are excited to present:
Northern California’s premier party band
DOUBLE FUNK CRUNCH: July 4
Back by popular demand
PABLO CRUISE: July 3
Steelman leads the parade
The Fourth of July is a celebration of our American heritage, but it is also a chance to celebrate being a Rancho Cordovan. And that’s what Josie Steelman has been doing for nearly a half-century. That may be why the Cordova Community Council and the Rancho Cordova Kiwanis Club have selected her to be the Grand Marshall of the “Land of Liberty” parade.
Steelman was honored earlier this year to be the Cordova Community Council’s “Rancho Cordovan of the Year,” a kind of “lifetime achievement award” reserved for those who have spent years building this town we call home. Known for her plain-spoken earnestness, Steelman is a longtime advocate of embracing and celebrating cultural diversity, and was doing so long before it was fashionable.
WLECOME!
The Cordova Community Council and Rancho Cordova Fourth of July Committee cordially invite you to experience our biggest community celebration: the Rancho Cordova Fourth of July!
For two days, we set aside our daily routine and gather to celebrate our nation's birthday and our Rancho Cordova community. Please join us and experience Rancho Cordova's spectacular Fourth of July Parade, Festival and Fireworks. It's FREE!
The theme of this year's event is "Land of Liberty" - a fitting tribute to the values we share as Americans.
The Rancho Cordova Fourth of July is certainly our largest volunteer-powered event. Many of your neighbors and friends will be working to make this Fourth of July memorable by directing traffic, leading craft projects, driving steam trains... even pouring beer!
Whether it is the devotion of our volunteers, skills of local musicians, restaurants and children, or the dedication of our service clubs, this event is intended to showcase Rancho Cordova as a great place to live and raise a family... or to visit!
What's in store?
We hope you will join us down in Hagan Park on July 3 as we kick off two days of our Silver Anniversary Celebration.
The Kids Zone will be in full swing, the beer will be ice cold and the carnival rides will be a chaos of color and activity. Swing by one of our many booths for dinner before sprawling out on a blanket for the laid back sounds of Pablo Cruise, our featured performer.
The grand finale? Look to the sky for fireworks!
Get up early on July 4 and find your spot along Coloma Road for our annual Fourth of July parade. Follow the fun down into Hagan Park for another full day of delicious food and wonderful performances topped off by a spectacular fireworks show.
During two fun-filled days, the Rancho Cordova Fourth of July Committee and its many business and agency partners hope to provide you with just too much to do, leaving you happily exhausted and looking forward to our grand, All American party again next year.
Be safe, and have fun, and don't go home until the last of the fireworks have exploded in our skies.
It's successful events like these that spark additional community activities, strengthen our local sense of identity and pride and ultimately revamp our community image.
These events allow us to focus on the best we have to offer as a city and as neighbors by sending the message that Rancho Cordova is a great place to be on the Fourth of July, and every other day, as well.
Together we will build and guard the "Land of Liberty" that is our country and the hometown we love. See you in Hagan Park!
Rancho Cordova Fourth of July Committee
- David Sander, Fund-raising
- Brian Danzl, Logistics
- Lee Frechette, Logistics
- Conrade Mayer, Logistics & Beer Garden
- Sean Still, Parking and Transportation
- Melody Mayer, Revenue Management
- Robert Sanger, Kids Zone
- Trish Lindvall, Cordova Recreation and Park District
- Officers Wayne Stevens, Jerry Lane and Russ Munn, RCPD
- Rick Sloan, Logo
- Ross and Carol Hutchings, Event Management
- Shelly Blanchard, General Manager
She grew up in the barrios of San Antonio, but her marriage to Dale Steelman and his career eventually brought them to Rancho Cordova. Mather Air Force Base was then home to Air Force navigation training, not only for the U.S. military, but for military flyers from throughout the free world. This constant influx of military navigators and their families from around the globe proved to be the perfect incubator for Steelman’s passion for multicultural understanding.
She became engaged in the schools as a volunteer at Cordova Villa Elementary School, inventing and encouraging cultural events and school projects. Her work in the schools encouraged her to complete her own high school education and inspired her to seek a college degree — which she did — from Sacramento State University.
Most people would probably have stopped there, but not Steelman. Her growing educational background and work in the schools further inspired her. She went on to eventually be elected to the Folsom Cordova Unified School District Board of Trustees, where she served from 1983 through 1992.
Today, Steelman continues to serve local education and her community. That is expressed through her long association with the Rancho Cordova Optimists Club. She was also selected to represent the community she loves as a member of the All-America City Awards traveling delegation to Tampa.
Josie Steelman is a mother of six children who all graduated from FCUSD schools, plus many grandchildren who have followed. With her large and diverse family, some might say she leads a Rancho Cordova parade every day.
On the Fourth of July, it will just be a little bigger!
The 25th Annual Rancho Cordova 4th of July
